Semester's Starting...and other Thoughts

Well, today's shaping up to be a busy day at work. TGIF.

I wrote the following a couple days ago, didn't publish, and guess I might as well post now on my lunch break:

As I said before, married life is great! However, this past week’s been fairly stressful because:

1. The house has a lot more work than we’d planned on, and,
2. School’s starting! That means a bit more commotion and excitement than I’d like right now.

As for the house, (it’s a very small place, mind you) it’s a very monotonous, monochrome place. All the walls are a dirty ivory color that is crying out for a change. The floors completely carpeted – bathroom included – in this deep brown low-pile carpet. I’ve already bought some paint, and have even painted the bathroom. The flooring will be tricky, but it has to go. The carpet is so dirty that walking around on it barefoot will leave your feet a despicable shade of black. We’ll see what the landlord will help us out with. He’s a gruff guy and he’s already had to replace half the pipes in the basement, the bathtub faucet, and a lot of outdoor wiring since we’ve moved in, so he probably won’t be too keen on the re-carpeting idea, but it has to be done.

As for the rest: I’m quite the creature of habit, and with the start of school there hasn’t been a chance for any habits to really be established. Today was the fist day of class, and this morning Matthias was still working on picking his class schedule. (Yikes! What a procrastinator :-P ) On top of that, the office rotation here at work has recently been mixed up and turned around, so I’m out of my work routine.

Last Wednesday marked the first visit of the in-laws (all except dad-in-law). Brother-in-Law (BIL) happily transferred into Notre Dame this semester. So MIL & SIL came to move him in to his new dorm…and of course they stayed with us. They left on Friday and the next day my family came out to bring my Brother back to Holy Cross. It’s been fun, but also very hectic having everyone around!

Hopefully things will calm down soon and we’ll get settled into a good routine.
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PS Ummm now it's Friday and things still haven't calmed down!

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One of my favorite parts of marriage is wonderful ability to seriously consider having children. Babies! So exciting! My summer housemate and I spent a good deal of time together in preparation for our weddings just grinning from ear to ear at the thought of them.

Maternal instincts set to hyper-drive, baby fever has set in, and that’s just the way it is.

Fortunately our husbands are well aware of this. Her’s even made an attempt to quell the infantile storm by proposing a ban on the word ‘baby’ and using ‘progeny’ in its stead. Somehow with the right intonation, squeal of delight, and goofy grin that word has the same effect. He tried.

From my end, working at a pregnancy resource center is the worst way to fuel the familial fire. Babies, babies, babies all day long! Girls my age coming in to the office who are on their 5th or 6th pregnancy (seriously) are no salve.

Trying to extend the family tree right away is probably a really bad idea for a few reasons. So, we’ve lumped ourselves in a group with most of our friends who’ve gotten married this summer: we’re going to try to wait two or so years before we actively try to conceive. (Or something like that….That’s what we’re all saying…..we’ll see how that goes!)

The best reason, that’s actually sating my baby fever for now (surprisingly), is health. I really need to get myself healthy to be the best mom I can. On my to do list: gain a few pounds, eat more, eat healthier, work out, get back into shape – and then maintain that healthy lifestyle.

Rats. That all sounds like the rest of the world: running around frantically screaming about diet and exercise. …expect that I’m trying to gain instead of loose.

A book entitled, “Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy” was sitting on the shelf at work, so I picked it up and have been reading it. It starts out with a section on “The Pre-Pregnancy Diet: Things to do three months to a year prior to conception.” Well, three months to a YEAR – ok, I’ll just focus on the year then. I’m sure my body could use it. In a very short time, the book informed me that I really under eat. (Surprise, surprise) Of course, on the flipside, I have to wonder how much the book’s perspective is tainted by the fact that the average American woman is seriously overweight and therefore needs many more calories than my body does.

Regardless, I’m going to read it and see what it says.

Sounds like fun! :-P